The Government has launched a new £56 million wave of funding in a bid to boost productivity throughout the UK economy.
The UK ranks as one of the best places in the world to start and grow a business, with around 1,075 new businesses are starting every day.
The funding was initially announced as part of the 2018 Budget and forms part of a joint report by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and HM Treasury.
In the report, the Government departments have set out a number of key actions that will help businesses to become more productive.
They believe businesses that embrace the best leadership and management models and techniques, as well as adopting tried-and-tested technologies, are more profitable and productive.
Businesses are being encouraged to enhance leadership skills, make the best use of new business technology, seek external advice and benchmark their performance against competitors to find out how they can improve.
In a bid to help accomplish this, the Government is providing millions of pounds in funding including £11 million to create a Small Business Leadership Programme that will provide high-quality training to small business leaders. As well as £20 million to strengthen local networks to focus on business improvement, so that the UK’s business leaders can learn from each other.
A further £25 million will be used to expand Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Partnerships programme that will help put more than 200 additional graduates with relevant skills into businesses with existing management issues so that they can help translate their research insights into business growth.
Small Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst said: “We are determined to make the UK the best place to work and start a business – and boosting productivity is key to that.
“As a former small business owner, I know how important it is to harness technology to make your business more productive and our review sets out crucial actions that businesses can take to boost their productivity.
“This £56 million of government funding will help businesses of all sizes seize the opportunities of scaling up in new markets when we leave the EU.
